I must be really dumb, I gotta admit, because I forgot to switch to Representation immediately after building the Pyramids. How could I forget that? Well, that's what happens when you are playing this game and doing multiple other things at the same time! Don't be like me and don't do it! ^_^
Anyways, as suggested, I opened borders with Genghis immediately, and sent my already existing workboat toward his territory to explore the map. New York also switched production out of Temple of Artemis and went back to producing workers.
Hinduism was promptly founded next turn, and 4 turns after that, the Temple of Artemis was founded in a distant land. For my efforts, I got a nice chunk of cash for fail gold.
A couple of turns later, I finished Alphabet:
Lately, I have been going for Alphabet instead of Aesthetics after Writing. It was sort of a gamble because at that time, I only knew Genghis and had yet to meet anyone else. Whether this comes back to bite me is yet to be seen, but I had my eyes towards Currency and Code of Laws as soon as possible.
On Turn 111 @ 100 BC, I founded my next city:
This is a great place for a GP Farm. The only problem is that this place is lacking so much in hammer production until I can put some workshops. But slavery will make this place pretty decent for a while to whip out some infrastructures and running a couple of scientists at least. It would be nice to have the Great Library here, but with so little hammer production and no marble, it was looking rather unlikely.
On the next turn, as my workboat sailed past the Mongolian waters, I met my next neighbor:
Strange that he didn't found a religion. There must be other religious fanatics on this map. He is right next door to Genghis on the same continent, so my hope was that they would hate each other's guts enough to get into a long series of wars.
On Turn 113 @ 50 BC, I popped my 1st Great Person. And it was rather a surprise:
A Great Engineer! Jeez... what will I do with him, I wonder? Does instant Great Library sound good to anyone, in the GP Farm of all places? A Great Scientist would have been great, but I will take this guy no problem! ^_^
A few more turns pass by, and my exploring workboat found another AI, this time on another continent that is not too far from the one occupied by Genghis and Justinian:
Giggles is Christian, and he too, didn't found a religion, it seems. I mean, 4 religions have already been founded at this point, and I have not met anyone who founded a religion. This is strange.
On Turn 117 @ 50 AD, I got my next desired tech:
Since I had the Great Lighthouse, getting an extra trade route just as I am meeting more AI is becoming more profitable for me. At this point, I had a nice monopoly on this tech as well. Most importantly, now I can tech Code of Laws, which nobody was willing to trade.
By the way, on this very same turn, the first war broke out on this map, and it was just the one I was hoping for:
Genghis converted to Confucianism a few turns earlier, and yet, he still hated his Confucian brother Justinian enough to declare war on him. I saw him getting into war mode, but I was sure that he would rather wage war on the same continent rather than trying to cross the waters to invade me.
By the way, the Kashi Vishwanath was built in the far away land.
Anyways, time for some tech trades now:
Justinian was the only one willing to trade Mathematics at this point, and I knew that Genghis had Iron Working available for trade. Having Currency helps so much in deals like this. Without it, I wouldn't have gotten a good deal out of this one, or this next one for that matter:
Usually, I don't like taking cheap techs from the AI in a trade, but call me lazy. I don't want to self tech Meditation, which I need for Philosophy sooner or later.
Getting Iron Working also revealed 2 Iron sources on my continent, one of which popped right next to New York:
Nice! That city could use more hammers too. It's funny because that spot where Iron popped was the very spot I was contemplating on putting New York. I am glad things turned out this way.
Anyways, on Turn 119 @ 100 AD, Taoism was founded. It looks like someone just got Theology. That leaves only 2 more religions yet to be founded, most likely from Philosophy and definitely from Divine Right.
Next turn, I met another neighbor, whom I wasn't too surprised to see:
There had to be a religious fanatic or two on this map, since I had yet to meet anyone who founded a religion. She shares the same continent as Justinian and Genghis. That continent is beginning to look very big indeed.
On Turn 123 @ 200 AD, the Apostolic Palace was built under Islam. Now it was only 4 turns earlier that Theocracy was founded by someone, so this means that most likely, a Great Engineer was used to rush this wonder. I wonder who that might be... perhaps Sal?
Also, on this same turn, I finished Code of Laws, and immediately set my research to Civil Service.
Meanwhile, Justinian contacted me and made it clear that he just doesn't like the warmongering Mongol next door to him:
No wars for me. Besides Genghis is my only neighbor right next door that I have to worry about. So no thanks!
A few turns later, I made some tech trades, first with Gilgamesh:
Now why in the world would I trade for Horseback Riding? Well, that's because I made this deal the turn after:
I had a whole bunch of spices on my continent, and I wanted to enable them so that I can use it, as well as getting access to another resource that I can trade. Monotheism is a cheap tech at this point, but it leads to Monarchy --> Feudalism --> Guilds, so I thought it was worth trading for.
In addition, this could help Justinian keep Genghis in check! ^_^
On this very same turn, I settled my next city:
It's actually on a riverside plains tile with 2 floodplains, some hills, and the rice that I can work once I get a border pop from Atlanta, the future GP farm. Since Atlanta already has 3 other food resources that can only be worked by it, the rice can be worked in this new city, making it a decent place.
Next turn, I founded another city:
Not too fond of the city location, this was the best place I can think of. It's only got one hill for hammer production, but at least it can work the whale later. Still, I am really beginning to crave for workshops.
Another tech trade:
Obviously I don't need Monarchy, but it is the path to Feudalism --> Guilds, and this was the only tech trade that made any sense at all.
The next turn, Izzy, who had the monopoly on Metal Casting, completed the Colossus:
Even then, she still wasn't willing to trade it, since she still had the monopoly on it.
A couple of turns later, the Parthenon was built somewhere. I am not sure, but it could be Gilgamesh. At that time, he was the only AI that I have met who had the monopoly on Aesthetics. But of course, I realized that this may not really be the case, soon enough.
By the way, on this same turn, I settled another city, this time to the north:
I have a whole lot of fish! Maybe Sid's Sushi might make some sense later in the game, perhaps? I mean, the only grain food resource I have happens to be rice too! Anyways, it is nice to not worry about a border pop to work the fish, thanks to some good culture production from New York.
Next turn, my exploring workboat found another AI:
Did I tell you guys that I hate this guy? He is the founder of Islam, and the builder of the Apostolic Palace most likely. And it turns out that he already had Aesthetics and Literature already. Maybe he built the Parthenon. Regardless, if I don't hurry to Literature soon, I may just lose the Great Library. And I might as well kiss the free Great Artist from Music, thanks to this annoying dude.
A turn pass by, and Izzy decides to give me a threatening pose:
Um... you are very far away, and therefore no threat to me. You also have a worst enemy, so why would I give into your demand? You can go shove it!
On Turn 133 @ 450 AD, I finally finished Civil Service:
At this point, I realized that nobody was going to trade me Aesthetics. Since I still had that Great Engineer sleeping in my capital city, I should get to Literature as soon as possible and get that Great Library built. I certainly don't want that annoying Louis grabbing another wonder that I desire a lot. That would make me really upset. So, I chose Aesthetics as my next tech.
On this very same turn, the Kong Miao was built somewhere far away, as I made the civics change, converting into Bureaucracy and Organized Religion. Slavery will have to stay for now, because I just don't have any use for Caste System just yet.
Now please don't laugh here, because what I did here is really stupid. I am sure you know exactly what I mean. If you are not sure why, read on further. ^_^
As my exploring workboat neared the tip of the large continent that housed all the other AI except Giggles, I finally met the last of the AI:
Well, hello there! Lots of worst enemies all around! Tell me this... why did Firaxis switch the leader picture between Kublai Khan and Qin Shi Huang? To me, this new change doesn't fit them. I think the old way fit them better. Oh well.
Another couple of turns pass by. And this time, it is that stinking annoying Louis who thinks he's got some muscles to flex:
You are even farther away from me than Izzy, you have already taken Music for free Great Artist that I always desire, and you are one of the most hated, annoying AI in my book. So why should I give you a tech? Again, go shove it! You will die for making this demand later.
On Turn 136 @ 520 AD, the Mausoleum of Maussallos was built in the distant land. Oh well... if I had marble, I would have tried for this. At least it never expires, which means I can always capture it later.
On the following turn, Justinian came knocking on my door, seeking a war ally against Genghis:
Sure! I will go ahead and declare war on the only neighbor that I need to worry about, who just happens to be one of the most aggressive AI in this game! Sign me up! Uh... NO!! REALLY??? ^_^
Anyways, Aesthetics was done on this turn, and I went for Literature. A quick research of only 2 turns anyway, and nobody wanted to trade it.
So, on Turn 139 @ 580 AD, Literature is finished, and now I come to a stop for this update, as I need to decide where to set my tech path towards.
Diplo Situation: Izzy, the founder of Christianity, only has 1 friend, Giggles, who is on another continent, while everyone else is running a different religion. And I happen to be the only Pagan. Wait, now why am I running Organized Religion when I don't even have a religion? GAH!! Remember back when I got Civil Service and said that my civics change was really stupid? That's the reason why! ^_^
Meanwhile, our next door neighbor, Genghis is also hated very much by Izzy and Justinian. That war between Mongolia and Byzantine is still going on, with apparently not much success from either side. You might think that a unit spammer with the highest unit prob in the game will have some good war success, but as of this moment, Justinian still has 9 cities, while Genghis is held in check with only 5 cities.
The other noticeable thing diplomatically is that Louis and Qin Shi Huang absolutely adore each other.... I guess it must be a thing between the 2 wonder lovers.
Techs: Jeez... does anyone have anything interesting available for trade? I guess I could sell a tech or two to certain AIs, but I want to avoid those "You traded with our worst enemy!" demerit as much as possible.
And that annoying Louis... he soundly beat me to Music! And I bet he is working on the Sistine Chapel as we speak!
Another thing of note is that Izzy still has the monopoly on Metal Casting, which she probably took from building the Oracle.
Map of the North & South:
I am 4 turns away from popping a Great Scientist. It's been a slow going with popping Great People. I am sure I could have done a lot better in this regard. At least I have a Great Engineer available to rush the Great Library now that I have Literature. And again, I am smacking myself in the head for running Organized Religion with no state religion! GAH!!
As for research path, I am unsure as to where to go. I could go directly to Paper --> Education --> Liberalism route now. I could go for Metal Casting now as an alternative to put down a few workshops in cities that badly lack hammer production, since Izzy still has the monopoly on it and will not trade it. I could also think about self researching Philosophy and gain access to Pacifism as well as a religion, though I will definitely not convert to it.
Most of the time, I usually bulb Philosophy, but since I don't even have a single academy built yet (which is just very very bad for this late into the game), I don't really want to bulb Philosophy. At least, I am hopeful that now that my GP farm has a library set up as well as the Great Library that I can build from the Great Engineer, my GP point production should go up relatively well.
As for cities, I only have room to put down 1 more city in the south, as you saw it with "C" marker in the map of the south.
Some courthouses have been built and are in production to reduce maintenance cost and increase my Espionage Points while I am still running Slavery. Eventually, I would like to get into Caste System to fully utilize my GP farm with 3 food resources all to itself. ^_^ This also means that I just might make getting Guilds as early as possible a priority to make up for my hammer deficiencies in some cities, though that would really sidetrack me away from Liberalism path at this point.
production, it was a no brainer to save him for this purpose.
resources bother me a bit as well. I am running Representation instead, so it could become an issue later on.
) but for the most part it seems to follow that pattern.
.
making it an ok tile. That lake tile could have been worked by the city to the north (next to the spices) but I hadn't planned ahead for that one. Overall I don't think it is that important. But given the choice I always opt for more land tiles that coast/ocean.
